Too Beautiful to Lie

Cast:
Yu Young-Ju: Kim Ha Neul (Ice Rain, My Tutor Friend, Ditto, Doctor K, Bye June)
Choi Hee-Chul: Kang Dong Wan

Introduction:
Released in Korea in early 2004 and starring Kim Ha Neul of ‘My Tutor Friend’ (which was the runaway comedy hit of 2003), and Kang Dong Wan in his movie debut, this romantic comedy was not quite the box-office powerhouse that ‘My Tutor Friend’ was, though it did enjoy a healthy box-office attendance. Perhaps being one of the first few romantic comedies of the year with viewers not quite knowing what to expect played a part, as well as having to go up against ‘Taegukgi’, the movie that has so far blown all the competition in 2004 away and rewritten Korea’s box-office records. It is unfortunate, because this movie is genuinely funny and has a very well-rounded plot that does not try to go overboard in its humour, unlike the over-the-top movies of the Stephen Chow kind.

Synopsis (contains minor spoilers!):
Kim Ha Neul plays Yu Young-Ju, a con-artist who uses her skills at deception to get herself out of jail on parole so that she can visit her elder sister, who is getting married. However, while on the way there on the train, she runs into an old-fashioned physician Choi Hee-Chul, played by Kang Dong Wan. Hee-Chul is quite the country bumpkin, being the only son of the mayor of a sleepy countryside town and is on his way to marry his sweetheart. However, he manages to drop his engagement ring awkwardly under the legs of a sleeping Young-Ju and while trying to retrieve it, creates a hilarious misunderstanding. After clearing up the misunderstanding with Young-Ju, he gets up to leave, but Young-Ju notices a pick-pocket stealing his ring at that very moment. Not wanting to get into worse trouble with the law, Young-Ju gets out of the train to retrieve the ring, which she successfully does. However, while doing so, she misses the train and leaves her bag which contains her sister’s wedding present in it.

This leads her to go to Hee-Chul’s hometown to get her bag back. While carrying his engagement ring, she unwittingly gets mistaken by Hee-Chul’s family as his girlfriend. This leads to a lot of hilarious moments where Young-Ju even manages to convince Hee-Chul’s family that she is pregnant with his child. The situation gets more complicated when Hee-Chul finally returns home after failing in his marriage proposal because he has lost his ring. He is shocked to find everyone treating Young-Ju as his wife-to-be and even blaming him for ignoring her after getting her pregnant. Let’s just say Hee-Chul gets beaten up a lot by his family for this little bit of trickery on Young-Ju’s part.

However, following the standard romantic comedy plot formula, the bitter enemies that are Hee-Chul and Young-Ju start to fall for each other and Hee-Chul begins to see that behind Young-Ju’s deceptive and cunning exterior, there is actually a sweet and vulnerable inside. However, the truth is revealed to the family, which causes yet more complications. But for those who like happy endings, do not be dismayed, for everything works out well in the end.

Plus points:
Kim Ha Neul has built up quite an impressive repertoire of films over the years since her debut in 1998, trying her hand at a wide range of film genres. Perhaps what shocked her fans and critics alike was when in 2003, she shed her innocent sweet girl image to play the role of a wacky and ditzy tutor in the romantic comedy ‘My Tutor Friend’. The shedding of her locks and image aside, perhaps what was most shocking was that Kim Ha Neul surprisingly displayed a flair for comedy. Her natural comedic timing and a wide range of comedic expressions eventually helped ‘My Tutor Friend’ to become one of the biggest box-office draws of 2003. ‘Too Beautiful to Lie’ is her second venture into the comedy genre and she does not fail to deliver. The whole movie is obviously built around her and her experience and acting ability show as she is called upon on quite a few occasions to portray different emotions in the blink of an eye, in order to convincingly portray her role as a professional con-artist. One of my favourites is when she makes a bet with Hee-Chul to see if he can tell if the next thing she says is a lie and he says that it is not a problem because whenever she tells the truth, she blushes. By now already having developed feelings for Hee-Chul, she then goes on to say that she likes Hee-Chul and she actually blushes, which leaves Hee-Chul confused! An interesting fact is that Kim Ha Neul won the Best Actress Award at the 40th Baek Sang Awards, the Korean equivalent of the Emmys, for her role in this film.

Kang Dong Won also turns in a decent performance playing the goofy country bumpkin who is sorely misunderstood by everyone around him. It is his debut film and his inexperience shows, but thankfully his character does not require him to test his acting ability too much and he adequately pulls off what he is required to do. Perhaps the most common complaint is that Kang Dong Wan looks too young and boyishly handsome to play his role as a countryside physician, but I think that that is a drawback many would be happy to overlook.

The supporting cast also do a good job adding to the overall value of the film with very believable performances. That is not to say that the characters they portray are very original, but they do provide the necessary ingredients for making the show as humorous as it is.

The plot is also pretty smooth-flowing and does not feel as ‘jumpy’ or hastily done as other comedies usually do. In fact, the plot is very well-rounded and will provide the viewer with a sweet and enjoyable story to enjoy. The best part about the film is that being after all a comedy, it is actually funny. The humour, though, is not overly wacky and done just for the sake of it, and generally avoids the use of ‘gutter’ humour and slapstick. Instead, the humour is subtle and cleverly woven into the plot, making use of the plot twists, dialogue and the characters’ acting abilities to create funny moments. I personally think that this a refreshing way of exploring the genre and the result is a movie that is more akin to those classic black-and-white silent comedies than wacky modern day ‘Naked Guns’.

Drawbacks:
While the plot is relatively complete and smooth-flowing, there still are scenes that perhaps could have been better explained, such as how Young-Ju suddenly developed feelings for Hee-Chul and his family. For those who have the benefit of getting the DVD, these missing plot developments are better explained in the deleted scenes. Another minor drawback is that in terms of the overall plot, the movie makes no attempt to do anything ground-breaking, sticking to the classic but proven formula that most Korean romantic comedies use. As all Korean romantic comedies eventually get drawn into comparisons with the classic of its genre that is ‘My Sassy Girl’, ‘Too Beautiful to Lie’ is no different and definitely falls short of its genre-defining predecessor. However, it is still a good romantic comedy and movie in its own right and definitely worth a look.

Conclusion:
The movie gets a 4.5 from me because it certainly lacks something that would put it among the likes of ‘My Sassy Girl’ as an all-time classic. Still, it is a very good movie and fans of either the lead stars will not be disappointed. For the neutral, what you will get is almost two hours of heart-warming entertainment that will leave you with a smile on your face.